


Branching Out

by asofthesea



Category: Legacies (TV 2018)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Roommates/Housemates, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/F, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, One Shot, Romance, Roommates, Sharing a Room, Slow Burn, and they were ROOMMATES, ish
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-16
Updated: 2020-03-16
Packaged: 2021-03-01 01:55:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,319
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23167330
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/asofthesea/pseuds/asofthesea
Summary: “Hey,” Josie says.Penelope looks up, probably shocked at the politeness in her tone but still responds, “Hey.”Taking a deep breath to gather her courage, Josie asks, “So the game’s this Friday and I was wondering if you weren’t already going with somebody else, which would be totally fine, if maybe you wanted to go with me?”ORInstead of sharing a room with Lizzie, Alaric and Caroline thought it would be a good idea for Josie to branch out to become more independent. Her new roommate is Penelope Park, who she grows to have a love/hate relationship with throughout the years, until the love starts to outgrow the hate.
Relationships: Penelope Park/Josie Saltzman
Comments: 25
Kudos: 257





	Branching Out

“Josie, this is your new roommate, Penelope,” Caroline says.

Josie waves and lets out a shy, “Hi.”

It had quickly grown apparent last year that the twins weren’t open to new people in their lives. They didn’t like being separated, and they were even mean to the other kids who tried to befriend them. Alaric and Caroline had decided it best to put the girls in separate rooms, in an attempt to make them a bit more independent and branch out.

While Josie is shy, Penelope definitely isn’t.

“Your mommy told me you’re a witch, like me, and since we are in the same grade, we get to share a room!”

Caroline nods, “That’s right. You two get to share this room for the whole school year. And who knows? If you two get along, you might get to share a room until you graduate!”

Josie asks, “Can Lizzie stay with us?”

“Who’s Lizzie?” Penelope asks.

Caroline answers, “She’s Josie’s sister. She is welcome to visit and have the occasional sleepover, but Lizzie has her own room, with her own roommate.”

Penelope says, “That’s okay, she can visit whenever, but I’m glad that I get you as my roommate, Josie.”

“Why?” Josie asks, they hadn’t even met each other yet.

Penelope smiles, “Because we are going to be _best_ friends, I can tell.”

“You will never believe what Hope said to me then,” Lizzie says from her place on Josie’s bed. Over the past five years, they have had separate rooms, but that hadn’t stopped the girls from hanging out in each other’s rooms all the time.

“What did she say?” Josie asks from her spot in front of her full-length mirror, looking at her outfit for Coven’s Day. She doesn’t understand why her sister doesn’t get along with Hope. Josie really likes Hope, and was planning on writing her a note telling her how much soon.

Lizzie sighs, “She told me that her dad doesn’t visit because he can’t, she says he’s busy. Mom is busy a lot too, but she always makes time to visit us. I don’t think she has a dad.”

“I believe her,” Josie says.

Lizzie looks taken aback, “Why would you believe her over me? I’m your sister.”

Josie quickly defends, “I just don’t think she’d lie about that. Maybe her dad actually is busy?”

“I don’t know,” Lizzie admits as she stands up and heads towards Josie, “That outfit’s cute, but I think it would look better on me.”

“What?” Josie asks. This was the dress that Mom had bought her on their last shopping trip, and she was waiting for the perfect time to wear it.

Lizzie nods, “If I wear it to Coven’s Day tomorrow, it will make Hope jealous for sure.”

“Why does Hope need to be jealous of you?” Josie asks.

Before Lizzie can say something else, Penelope pipes in from her own bed, “Lizzie, if you are going to keep bickering with your sister, could you please just leave?”

“Excuse you, Penelope,” Lizzie begins, “My sister and I are having a disagreement, but I’m still welcome to visit my sister in her room. Am I doing something wrong?”

Penelope stares at Josie, who quickly drops her gaze. Of course she’s not going to speak up for herself. Penelope’s had to watch as Lizzie became more controlling and Josie let her.

“You may not be doing anything wrong, but you are wrong. You would look hideous in that dress,” Penelope smirks as she says it.

Penelope’s known the twins long enough to recognize the beginning of a classic Lizzie Saltzman meltdown when she sees one. Before she can get another comment in, Lizzie is storming out of the room, Josie close on her heels.

However, Josie pauses at the door, “What happened, Penelope? Why are you so mean to her?”

“Just boredom, I guess,” Penelope lies.

“So, Jed?” Josie asks as Penelope enters their room. They’ve been roommates since they were six, but they haven’t been friends for three years now. They used to be close, but once Penelope started being mean to her sister, their relationship had quickly deteriorated. Now that they were fourteen, they were civil, but not much more.

Penelope shrugs as she changes into her pajamas, “He asked me out and I couldn’t find a good reason not to. You know, some people think he’s going to be the Alpha once Peter graduates and leaves, so that’s a plus.”

Josie remains silent, pretending to read the book in her hands. She has a report due on it in a week, but she can’t seem to focus, and she isn’t quite sure why. All she’s been thinking about all night was Penelope’s date with Jed. Probably because it was her first date and Josie herself had never been on a date.

At her roommate’s silence, Penelope asks, “Why, do you have a problem with that?”

Josie shakes her head, “I just thought he wasn’t your type, that’s it.”

Yes, that’s it.

That’s the only reason she’d been thinking about them all night. Jed didn’t seem right for Penelope and everybody was talking about it. Well, Lizzie and her roommate Alyssa were talking about it. They both said that it didn’t make sense.

Penelope climbs into bed, “Well, I guess I’m still figuring out what my type is.”

“And?” Josie asks.

She seems to be thinking for a moment before she responds, “I don’t think Jed’s my type, or werewolves in general. No offense to them, but they all have way too much toxic masculinity going on.”

Josie laughs, “That’s kind of true.”

“Kind of?” Penelope asks, bewildered, “When a vampire complimented my outfit, he growled. Like literally growled.”

Josie’s laughter only grows, “You’re kidding.”

“I wish I was, needless to say, there won’t be a second date. He still has some evolving to do.”

“That’s too bad,” Josie says, “but you’ll find your person someday. Through lots of trial and error, probably.”

“Unfortunately, that’s life,” Penelope says as she reaches over to shut off her bedside lamp, “Goodnight, Josie.”

She’s not sure why, but Josie finds herself smiling softly, “Goodnight, Penelope.”

Since Alyssa Chang is out of town, they are hanging out in Lizzie’s room.

“Do you ever think about asking Dad for a new roommate?” Lizzie asks.

Josie thinks about it. She had been roommates with Penelope since they were six. When they were younger, they were really good friends. As they got older, they started to drift apart. They still got along fine, but they were by no means friends.

Truth be told, Josie liked the consistency of sharing a room with Penelope. She knew her since they were kids, and always liked how easy she was to get along with (when Lizzie wasn’t there). Plus, they were just starting to get along again, and Josie wanted to be friends with Penelope again. She didn’t want to mess that up by switching rooms.

“No,” Josie answers, “you?”

Lizzie’s roommate Alyssa Chang had been mean when she was younger, but had grown calmer with age.

“Not anymore,” Lizzie answers, “Although it would have been kind of cool to share a room with you.”

Josie nods in agreement. She had always wondered what it would be like to share a room with her sister for her whole life, but she figured she was better off. Their parents had explained to them years ago why they did it, and Josie agreed with them. As much as she loved Lizzie, she also loved having her own space away from her sister.

Before she can stop the words from leaving her mouth, Josie asks, “So what do you think of Penelope?”

Josie doesn’t know why she cares so much about what her sister thinks of Penelope. It’s probably just because she wants to be friends with Penelope again, but doesn’t want to hurt her sister because of their troubled past. They used to get along when they were younger, but then Penelope had started acting rudely towards Lizzie, which had ultimately been what ruined her friendship with Josie.

Lizzie looks over to her sister next to her in her bed, “Why do you ask that?”

The question is purely inquisitive, but Josie finds herself getting defensive nonetheless.

“I just was wondering if all the drama between you two was in the past or not.”

Josie can tell that her sister doesn’t believe her, but she doesn’t question it as she responds, “She’s not my favorite person in the world, but I guess we haven’t fought in a while, so there’s that.”

As she’s heading back to her room later that night, she replays her conversation with her sister from earlier. She had wanted to mend things with Penelope because they had been so close when they were younger. After Lizzie, Penelope was always her favorite person to hang out with. Josie had been the one to stop hanging out with her first. She declined every invitation and never offered any of her own. Eventually, the invitations stopped altogether.

When she enters their room, Penelope is at their shared vanity, curling her hair. Josie remembers the first time Penelope did her hair for her. Penelope was always so much better at those things, and she was so willing to help Josie out.

“Hey,” Josie says.

Penelope looks up, probably shocked at the politeness in her tone but still responds, “Hey.”

Taking a deep breath to gather her courage, Josie asks, “So the game’s this Friday and I was wondering if you weren’t already going with somebody else, which would be totally fine, if maybe you wanted to go with me?”

A look Josie can’t quite place flashes over Penelope’s face briefly before she replaces it with her normal look of indifference, “Why not? I’m not going with anybody.”

Eating lunch with her sister on Friday, Josie finally decides to tell her what she did.

“So, Penelope and I are hanging out tonight at the game,” Josie says quickly, as if her sister might not comprehend what she said, and she doesn’t have to have this conversation. She doesn’t know how her sister is going to react, but she knows to keep this a secret from her would ultimately hurt her more in the grand scheme of things.

“How’d she rope you into that?” Lizzie asks, swirling her pasta around on her plate.

Josie clears her throat before she says, “Um, actually, I asked her to come with me.”

Lizzie looks up, “Why would you do that?”

Josie shrugs, “We just used to be really good friends when we were younger, and I thought that maybe we could try to work towards that again.”

Lizzie scoffs, “You mean when you were seven? Oh yeah, best friends for life,” her sister stands up, “I think I’ve lost my appetite.”

“Lizzie, wait,” Josie says, but she doesn’t follow her. She knows the kind of breakdown Lizzie is going to go have right now, and she doesn’t want to be anywhere near it. She won’t be any help to her sister if she’s the one who Lizzie is upset with.

Josie looks around to find the witches’ table. She finds Penelope and finds herself staring at her. She’s really pretty. Before she realizes it, Penelope is looking up and they lock eyes. Josie quickly looks down at her food, suddenly very interested in it. She can only imagine the smirk Penelope’s putting on right now.

The blush that heats her cheeks as she realizes Penelope caught her staring is obvious, even to her. Penelope probably just thinks that Josie was spacing off, not that she was admiring her roommate’s beauty. Josie would be lying to herself if she said she didn’t think Penelope was pretty. Josie knew she liked girls, and she was very open about that, but she was confused about her feelings for Penelope.

Sometimes, Penelope would make Josie feel like she was the most special person in the world. She could make her forget her troubles and frustrations with one funny story. However, she made Josie so angry at her for how she treated Lizzie. Lizzie is her twin and means everything to her. Josie has found herself wishing many times that the two of them could get along. If they did, everything would be so much easier.

Her feelings for Penelope would be much easier to decipher. Does she only like her because she craves the friendship that they used to have? Is it stupid to hold on to childhood memories of when everything was easier? Josie figures that it really doesn’t matter though, because they don’t get along.

“This seat taken?”

Josie looks up to see Penelope with her classic smirk on her face. Josie knew she would make that face.

The blush creeps back to her face as she responds, “No, of course not.”

Penelope slides into the seat across from Josie with ease. Her movements are so relaxed, but Josie knows she has a reason for everything she does.

“Not that I’m not happy to eat lunch with you,” Josie asks, “but why are you sitting with me?”

With all the grace in the world, Penelope takes the apple off of Josie’s tray that she knows she won’t eat because it’s not her favorite kind, “I’m making a statement.”

The simple answer does nothing to answer Josie’s question about Penelope’s intentions. She wants to grow their friendship, but she thought it would be a gradual thing, not that they would be hanging out together in front of the whole school so soon.

“What statement are you making?” Josie asks. She really needs to know.

Penelope sighs before leaning in and lowering her voice, not wanting prying ears to hear, “That my friends can’t say things about the people I care about.”

Ignoring the fact that Penelope just told her she cares about her, Josie asks, “What were they saying about me?” She can only imagine the things people would say behind her back, she knows what they say right in front of her face.

“It doesn’t matter,” Penelope responds easily, “What matters is what we’re going to do between the last class of the day and before the game starts.”

Josie puts herself at ease. If Penelope says it doesn’t matter, then she knows Penelope doesn’t believe what people are saying about her. If Penelope doesn’t believe it, then how bad can it be?

The Mystic Grill closes at 10 pm, so they just made it in time after the game to grab some milkshakes to go. They find a bench in the park to sit at and enjoy their drinks. It’s not often that the students are outside of the school, but they always try to savor the moments that they are.

“What do you think you’ll do after graduation?” Josie asks.

“Go to college, I suppose. Although it sucks that there aren’t any supernatural universities. Those would be a lot harder to keep a secret about the students that attend, I suppose. What about you?”

“I’m not sure. Part of me thinks that I should stay at the school and help out, maybe even teach some classes.”

“What about the other part of you?” Penelope asks, sipping her milkshake as she waits for Josie’s answer.

Josie turns on the bench, putting her leg up to face Penelope, “I thought it would be nice to do something normal kids do. Like go backpacking through Europe. I don’t know, I just want to see what the world has to offer beyond the Salvatore School and Mystic Falls.”

Penelope nods, “I know, sometimes I just feel like we’re so out of touch with the rest of the world.”

“Exactly!” Josie exclaims, “But I feel so bad talking to my parents about this because they worked so hard to make a place for Lizzie and me where we could belong and be ourselves, that they forgot about fitting in with the rest of the world.”

“Well,” Penelope begins, “I understand that you want to help out your family, but if you want to explore more, you definitely should. You shouldn’t feel guilty about wanting to do your own thing.”

Josie shrugs, “I guess only time can tell what I’ll decide to do.”

They continue their conversation while finishing their milkshakes before finally deciding to head back to the school. Before they enter the gates to the school, Penelope turns to Josie.

“I had fun tonight. I know that things have been weird between us, and that’s mostly been my fault,” Penelope pauses, seeming to think hard about her next words, “What I’m trying to say is that, I’m glad things are good between us again.”

Josie smiles, “Me too.”

Over winter break, most of the students leave, including Penelope. Josie hasn’t felt this torn up about Penelope leaving since they were young.

Penelope’s mom is going to be coming soon to pick her up, so Josie helps Penelope pack her things. They work in comfortable silence as Josie watches the room lose certain touches that are distinctly Penelope. Her curling iron, her favorite pillow, and the book Josie had just given her for Christmas.

Josie knew that Penelope will be back in a few weeks, but her absence still hurts. They had patched things up between them just over two months ago, now Penelope was leaving. It hurt Josie way more than she thought it was going to.

As she’s zipping her suitcase closed, Penelope says, “Now don’t have too much fun while I’m gone. If you do, I’m expecting stories when I get back.”

Josie laughs, “Trust me, not much goes on over break. The school’s pretty quiet. My mom should be back the day before Christmas Eve, so we’ll get to spend the holidays with her, which will be nice.”

Penelope nods, “Tell her I said hi when you see her, it’s been a while since I’ve seen her.”

“Yeah, she’s really busy recruiting kids in Europe. There are a couple of different schools opening up, but they aren’t inclusive to all types of supernaturals like we are. My parents think it’s better this way, if the factions can learn to get along while they are still young,” Josie rambles. She knows the speech, she’s heard it from her mom and dad 100 times whenever she or Lizzie asks why they haven’t seen their mom in a while.

“It’ll be good for you guys to have some time to spend with your mom without her attention being pulled in different directions with the school,” Penelope says, “You should enjoy it.”

Josie’s face lights up in a smile, “Oh, I plan to. On Christmas Eve we are going to make cookies to eat on Christmas Day while we all watch movies together. Lizzie and I have it all planned out.”

“I’m really glad you get that time with your mom, Jo, you deserve it.”

Josie’s smile grows at the nickname. Only her family had ever given her a nickname, but Penelope liked to hand them out left and right. The term just seemed to solidify their friendship in Josie’s mind.

“Thanks,” Josie replies, “I think you’re all set.”

Penelope nods, “I think that I am, too. Whatever I don’t have packed I’ll just have to live without for a couple of weeks, I guess.”

Neither says anything for a few moments before Josie ends the silence, “So this is goodbye, then.”

Penelope’s face tilts, “You say that like it’s forever. I’ll see you again in like three weeks. Is something wrong?”

Josie shrugs, “It’s nothing.”

“It’s not nothing if it’s upsetting you,” Penelope argues.

“It’s just that, we have just started to be friends again, and now you’re leaving. I’m just worried that you’ll come back and things will be different between us again,” Josie confesses.

Penelope shakes her head, “Josie, that’s utter nonsense. We have had rough patches, but even when we didn’t get along, I still liked you. A few weeks away isn’t going to change that.”

“You did?” Josie asks. She had pretty conflicting feelings about Penelope at that point, with her and Lizzie not getting along.

“We’ve known each other since we were six, I think that there will always be a part of me that cares for you, Josie.”

Josie nods, “Same.”

“Now come here and give me a hug before I leave,” Penelope says.

Josie obeys and walks into her friend’s waiting arms. Penelope has always made her feel safe and secure. She’s the place Josie wants to go to when something is wrong in her family, or she had a bad day. Penelope’s also the first person Josie wants to share her successes with. While she’s in her arms, Josie realizes that Penelope’s her best friend.

They eventually pull away and Josie says, “Merry Christmas, Penelope.”

“Merry Christmas, Jojo.”

“So I’ve been talking to your dad, but how’s school really going? Make any new friends? See anybody that you like?”

Josie considers her mom’s questions as she stirs the frosting for the cookies, “School’s going good. Penelope and I are friends again, which is really nice. We hang out a lot and go to school events together. It just sucks that things are still a little rocky between her and Lizzie.”

Caroline nods, “It’s hard when two important people in your life don’t get along. Whatever issues those two have, they’ll need to work out between themselves. Trust me, if you try to solve everything yourself, you’ll only end up making things worse.”

“I guess, but I wish that there was something I could do. I either have to hang out with Lizzie or hang out with Penelope. They just can’t get along when they’re together, even though they both know I want them to.”

Caroline puts a tray of cookies in the oven and sets the timer before she turns her full attention to her daughter.

“These things just take time. These two have a history, plus there’s still stuff between them.”

“Like what?” Josie asks, she thought all of their issues were in the past.

Caroline smirks, “Isn’t it obvious? They both are competing to spend time with you. When you are hanging out with Lizzie, Penelope probably gets jealous and vice versa.”

Josie shakes her head, “I don’t know, Mom, you haven’t seen them together.”

“Honey, I don’t have to be here to know how much they both care about you. Your sister loves you more than anything, and if Penelope is talking about you even a fraction as much to her family as you are to me, then I know she cares about you, too.”

Josie thinks it over. Most of the time they fight is when Josie has plans with one of them and has to turn down the other. Maybe what her mom is saying is true.

“Do you think I should invite both of them to do something, that way they will both know that I care about both of them? Or would spending time together just drive them further apart?” Josie asks.

Her mom shrugs, “It’s hard to say, but you could talk to each of them and let them know you aren’t going to be choosing one over the other, that you have a place in your heart for both of them.”

She loves having her mom home and being able to have these conversations. Whenever she has a problem with school, her mom always knows what to say to make her feel in control of the situation and at ease.

Josie nods, “I think I just might do that.”

Lizzie enters the kitchen, “Good news is I found the aprons. Bad news is the rats found them first.”

Josie and Caroline laugh at the tattered aprons in Lizzie’s hands.

“It’s okay, we’re just finishing up anyways,” Caroline says.

“Oh thank goodness,” Lizzie says as she hops up on the counter, “I didn’t really want to bake, I just wanted to eat.”

Later that night, the twins decide to have a sleepover in Josie’s room.

As they’re laying together on Josie’s bed, she asks, “Do you hate Penelope?”

“Mom says hate is a strong word, Jo,” Lizzie replies.

Josie sighs, “I just want to know why you two still don’t get along. Mom said I shouldn’t push, but if there’s anything that I could do to help, I want to.”

Lizzie turns over so they’re face to face, “It’s just something about her, I can’t explain it. I like that she makes you happy, but I still just don’t like hanging out with her. I don’t know if it’s the bad memories or the fact that you like her more than me.”

Josie positions herself up on her elbow, “I don’t like her more than you, Lizzie, you’re my sister, I love you. You each mean so much to me, and I have a place in my heart for both of you. I’m sorry if I ever made you feel like you were second-best because you’re not. I care about both of you, but you each mean something different to me.”

Lizzie asks, “What does Penelope mean to you?”

“She’s my best friend,” Josie answers quickly. She loved spending time with Penelope more than anybody else who wasn’t in their family, so of course, they were best friends.

“Is that all she is to you?”

“Why do you ask that?” Josie asks her sister, confused.

Lizzie takes a breath, “It’s just that you two seem to have gotten close, even closer than you were before the falling out. I haven’t seen you like this with anybody else. I just see the way you look at her, and I think that there’s a possibility there’s something more there.”

Josie thinks about what her sister said. It’s true that she loves spending time with Penelope. Their friendship has grown, but it’s just the fact that they came back stronger. Although Josie’s even caught herself sneaking glances about Penelope when she shouldn’t, or staring at her in class. Oh shit, she does have a crush on Penelope.

“Plus I’ve seen the way she looks at you,” Lizzie continues in Josie’s silence, “I just thought maybe you two were something more and keeping it a secret from everyone.”

Josie shakes her head quickly, “Nothing’s happened between us.”

“Woah, calm down, Josie, I believe you. Even if nothing’s happened, do you want something to happen?” Lizzie questions.

“I think so,” Josie confesses, “but I don’t want to ruin our friendship after I just got it back.”

“I’m not usually wrong about these things, and I think that Penelope has a big fat crush on you, Josie. Even if she doesn’t she seems the type to be cool about it.”

Josie nods as she lays back down, “I’ll just have to talk to her when she gets back.”

Josie shifts from one foot to the other as she waits for Penelope to arrive in the cold winter. Even with Lizzie’s reassurances, Josie still feels anxious as she waits for Penelope to get back. When they were younger, Josie would always greet Penelope back from any breaks or weekends away, so she decided to restart the tradition.

She watches as Penelope’s dad’s car gets closer to the school. Josie knows her parents are divorced, and that Penelope did not like spending time with her dad, so she is going to be in a bad mood. Josie thinks this is a valid excuse to not tell Penelope about her feelings right now. Lizzie would agree, for sure.

When the passenger door opens, Josie stays back as she watched Penelope interact with her dad. He walks over to the trunk and opens it, taking out her suitcase and backpack.

“Want me to help you take this stuff to your room?” He offers.

“No, I think I got, thanks Dad,” Penelope’s voice comes out flat. Josie recognizes it from all the years they weren’t getting along.

Her dad stands there for a moment, not sure what to do as Penelope puts her bag on her shoulders and grabs her suitcase.

“Well, I’ll see you later, squirt,” He says as he wraps his arms around Penelope for a quick, one-sided hug.

“Bye, Dad,” Penelope says, giving him a tight smile as he walks back to the car.

Penelope begins walking into the school, but she stops when she sees Josie.

“Hey,” Josie says, giving her a small wave.

“Josie,” Penelope says, letting out a sigh, “boy, am I glad to see you.”

Penelope drops everything in her arms and opens them, running towards Josie. Josie meets her halfway, wanting to hug her best friend and crush. When they meet in the middle, Josie’s foot finds a patch of ice that causes her to tumble to the ground, pulling Penelope with her.

Thankfully, they fall sideways and land almost all in the snowbank. Josie opens her eyes after their fall to see Penelope on top of her. This is a compromising position, for sure.

“I forgot how clumsy you are,” Penelope comments as she lifts her weight off of Josie, but doesn’t move anymore.

“Yeah,” Josie says, “that probably won’t ever change.”

Penelope smiles, “I hope you never change, Jojo.”

Right then and there, all Josie can think about is kissing Penelope. She glances quickly at her lips before she realizes she needs to get out of this situation, now. Josie starts to slowly sit up so Penelope gets the hint and gets off of her, offering her hand to help once she’s standing back up herself.

“Sorry about that,” Josie says, “but in my defense, it is really icy right here.”

Penelope nods, “Oh, I know it is. Your feet always manage to find the danger, anyways.”

Josie shakes her head and grabs Penelope’s suitcase and pillow. Penelope grabs her backpack and they head back to their room.

“How was seeing your mom?” Penelope asks.

“It was really nice, she stayed an extra day to go out with some friends, so we got to see her more, which was really nice,” Josie says.

“I’m really happy for you, Josie,” Penelope says. Josie studies her, but she only hears sincerity in her tone.

Josie clears her throat as they enter their room, “So, I noticed that your dad dropped you off.”

Penelope draws in a breath, “Yes he did.”

“I didn’t realize you were talking to him,” Josie says. If she’s being honest, she’s a little hurt Penelope didn’t tell her about it sooner.

Penelope shrugs, “My mom was the one who thought it was a good idea. She seems to have forgiven him for leaving us.”

“Have you?” Josie asks as she sets the suitcase by Penelope’s bed and her pillow on it, fluffing it up.

“I don’t know. He just left, and now he wants to come back and fix things on his terms? I’m just not sure I even want to have a relationship with him,” Penelope admits as she flops down on her bed.

Josie sits on her bed and says, “You can decide whatever you want. Maybe you’ll forgive him with time, or maybe you never will. He’s the one who ruined your relationship, so it’s up to you when and if you want to fix it.”

Penelope sits up and gives a small smile, “Josie Saltzman, my part-time therapist.”

“You don’t pay me nearly enough,” Josie jokes.

“I guess I’m just in your debt.”

Josie laughs, “I’d say we’re even since you do my hair for like every game and dance.”

“Maybe so,” Penelope says, “Thanks for today, Jojo. I know I like just got here, but you already made my day better.”

Josie smiles, “Anytime.”

Josie isn’t exactly sure what her excuse is after that for not telling Penelope that she likes her, but she still puts it off. Lizzie kept hounding her about it to the point that Josie lashed out at her. Her sister hasn’t brought it up since.

She has every opportunity to bring it up, but Josie is still scared. What if she tells Penelope, and she laughs in her face, or calls her stupid, or wants to move rooms? The risk just isn’t worth it, Josie tells herself.

Although now that she addressed that she has feelings for Penelope, they are harder and harder to ignore. Each time Penelope smiles at her, her heart flutters. Whenever they touch, Josie’s skin feels like it’s on fire. Josie thought that with some time, her feelings would go away, but if anything, they’ve only gotten stronger.

When Valentine’s Day comes, Josie can’t help but sulk. Penelope receives a few letters and presents from admirers. How could she not? She’s the most popular person in their grade, so many people must have a crush on her.

Penelope comes back that night, “You’ll never believe the day I had, people I didn’t even know were coming up to me and giving me things or confessing their feelings.”

Josie knows that if Penelope knew about her feelings for her, she wouldn’t be rubbing this in her face, but she doesn’t. Josie doesn’t want to hear about everybody fawning over Penelope when she can’t even tell her best friend how she feels.

“Oh yeah?” Josie says, trying to sound at least a little bit interested.

Penelope doesn’t seem to notice her friend’s turmoil, “Yeah. I felt bad that I didn't like any of them when they all felt something for me. Is that weird? That seems a little weird. I shouldn’t feel bad about the way I feel.”

“Do you like anybody?” Josie asks. They had talked about their love interests in the past, but not much lately, which may have been her fault.

Penelope looks over at Josie from her bed. They are both laying down, facing each other in the near-dark.

“I do,” she answers simply, “you?”

Josie nods in reply, not trusting her voice to give her away at this particular moment.

Penelope asks, “Did you get any valentines?”

Josie shakes her head, “Not unless you count the one Emma gave to everybody.”

Penelope sits up, “Definitely not, come with me.”

Josie follows Penelope, confused as she leads them to the kitchen.

“Sit,” Penelope instructs Josie. She does as she’s told as she tiredly watched Penelope rummage around the kitchen, searching for certain supplies.

Josie watches as she grabs something out of the fridge. She hears Penelope mutter, and recognizes that she’s doing a spell.

“What are you doing?” Josie asks, not wanting to get in trouble.

After she finishes Penelope turns around with a cupcake in her hand. She walks over to Josie and says, “I added some touches to make your valentine special.”

The cupcake is set down in front of her. Josie watches as the one candle’s flames flicker into the shape of a heart, before the flames die out and sparks fill the air.

Josie laughs as she looks over at Penelope, “I love it, thank you so much.”

Josie stands up and wraps her arms around Penelope in glee. Penelope squeezes her back, “Happy Valentine’s Day, Jojo.”

When Josie eventually pulls back, her arms are still wrapped around Penelope’s neck. It’s now or never, she decides.

Leaning in to kiss Penelope is, so far, the bravest thing Josie thinks she’s ever done. When Penelope kisses her back, Josie decides that this was worth it, even if Penelope comes to her senses soon.

Josie initiated the kiss, but Penelope is the one to deepen it by putting her tongue in Josie’s mouth. She backs Josie up until she hits the table. On instinct, Josie hops on the table, not letting go of Penelope’s lips as she does.

Penelope’s hands push Josie’s knees apart as she walks in between them to bring them closer once again. Her hands find their way to Josie’s back, pulling her impossibly closer. One of Josie’s hands is in Penelope’s hair, while the other rests on her cheekbone, thumb stroking her skin.

Josie loves touching Penelope. Josie loves being touched by Penelope. Josie wants to live in this moment forever.

Eventually, Penelope pulls back, “That was a nice surprise.”

Josie blushes, “I’ve been wanting to do that for a while.”

“You shouldn’t have waited so long,” Penelope says as she pulls Josie in for another kiss.

This kiss is more rushed than the first one. Josie had a taste of Penelope, but she wants more. Her hands fly around Penelope’s body unable to rest in just one place, wanting to explore all of her.

As they continue to kiss they miss the other person entering the kitchen until they clear their throat.

The girls pull apart as they turn to see Dorian standing in the doorway, looking like he’d rather be anywhere else.

“Don’t tell my dad,” is the first thing that Josie says.

“Just go back to bed and don’t let me catch you again, I’ll pretend like I never saw anything,” Dorian replies as he makes his way to the fridge.

“Thanks, Dorian,” Josie says as she pulls Penelope out of the kitchen back to their room.

Penelope giggles the whole way back, finally speaking once they are in their room, “Did you see the look on Dorian’s face? I think he wants to die.”

Josie turns to her, “This is serious, what if that was my dad?”

Penelope senses Josie’s nerves and quickly calms down, “It wasn’t your dad. Dorian said he wouldn’t say anything, and we’ll just have to be more careful next time.”

Josie’s heart skips a beat when Penelope says ‘next time.’

“And when will that be?” Josie asks.

“Hmm,” Penelope says, walking closer to Josie, “let me think about it.” Penelope wraps her arms around Josie’s neck and pulls her in for another kiss.

Josie smiles into the kiss, it only took her eight years, but she got the girl.

**Author's Note:**

> This was not at all how I planned on this fic ending, but I started writing and I kept adding scenes I thought would be cute and got rid of other ones, then I just decided to end it differently. Let me know what you think please!


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